After they noticed the new feeder more and more arrived, between all three feeders in the garden we had no less than 35 birds at a time! They nearly emptied all three feeders by the end of the day!
We also have happy little bird families in the bird houses, Mom and Dad have been back and forth feeding their little ones who you can hear chirping away in the bird house. We have also had visits from the Red Wings, and Robbins, and I have spotted a few birds of prey as well (probably drawn in by all the finch), and last week we heard a screech owl! So bird watching is becoming quite the sport around here. :)
In addition to all the gardening and bird watching, I have quite a photo project on my hands. This week we got my mother moved into her new home, and I was excited to offer to organize her old photos. It has been quite the sleuthing project to determine the who, what, and where of each photo. It is a good reminder to label those photos, including the digital variety, I am hoping to organize my own a little better after I am done with these. I am first breaking them down by decade, then by year, then scanning them onto my computer so I can send copies to my sisters and of course so I can have my own copies, and maybe put together a few photos albums.
I absolutely love seeing all the really old photos- This is a picture of my great uncle and his navigator home on leave from World War 2, he was a B-17 pilot and flew multiple bombing missions earned two distinguished flying crosses and a purple heart. I find it very interesting to look back in history.
Here is a picture of my mother and her brother ready for school back in the fifties- so cute!
Here they are as teens taking care of their horses in 1969.
Here is another picture of my mother in 1966, so pretty, and very fun to see the different fashions!
There are also plenty of pictures of me as a child, here are me and my sister back in the late 70's, I loved riding around on my bike, such fun memories.
.jpg)
So that is what I have been up to this week, I am hoping to finish organizing these photos in time to get back to finishing my fairy tale posts that I am eager to complete!
I hope everyone is enjoying their spring! Thanks for reading!
I am curious if you have any problems with the birds filching from your garden? We had several feeders in our front yard last year, but in addition to the many birds that we attracted, we attracted three bears, so we had to take the feeders down. I thought about placing some new feeders in our backyard this year, but was hesitant to attract birds to the same place as my fruit and vegies are growing (especially our strawberries). I'd love to hear how it works for you!
ReplyDeleteHi Maureen~ I have been lucky to never have any real bird issues in my berry and veggie gardens, the birds have never taken more than a few of my blueberries, so I have been lucky as far as that goes. Most of the birds I attract to the garden are primarily seed eaters, and a few also eat insects which of course is a nice benefit to the garden.
ReplyDeleteI would have to take my feeders down as well if something like bears were an issue, that would be frightening! The main problem I have when putting the seed near my gardens is when the seed is spilled and sprouts into weeds, I have moved the seed to my decorative garden beds, with shrubs that also attract the birds, and kept them away from my veggie garden. I also have nut and seed allergies, so I like to keep the bird seed far away from anything I would eat, but the birds themselves have never caused any garden damage. The whole family loves watching all the bird activity at the feeders, we also have set up a registered backyard habitat through the National Wildlife Federation www.nwf.org , you can get wonderful info from their website on tips to create a backyard wildlife habitat, and putting out the best feeders and bird houses etc. Thanks for stopping by. :)
Thanks for the thorough response April! I hadn't thought about the fact that the birds that eat seed don't eat fruit per se. Our feeder did attract some crows last year, who tried to feed off the droppings. The other birds chased the crows away though. It sounds like we could set up new feeders though. My thoughts are that the bears won't find the feeders in the fenced back yard. I hope so anyway... You're brave to have feeders when you have nut and seed allergies! BTW, you can buy seed that has been shelled already, so you don't get random sunflower and other plants growing all over your yard.
ReplyDeleteThe birds definitely loved the shelled sunflowers, and we go through lots of niger thistle as well, our local garden store used to sell a wonderful variety like you mentioned, now it sells a no waste variety that is half shelled, but they fill it out with millet that sprouts under the feeders, I may have to look for a nicer variety next time I am shopping at a larger store. :) As for the allergies, I have my husband and children fill and clean the feeders, and weed under where they are just in case. :) Good luck with your new feeders, I definitely hope the bears don't find it! Happy backyard bird watching!
ReplyDeleteGoldfinches are pretty birds, April. Yesterday we had a flock of turkeys and a hawk visit. Strange animals around here lately. The newspaper reported a farmer spotted a flock of Ibises.
ReplyDeleteOld photos are so much fun to look at. My sister tackled that project last year. Thanks goodness!
Hi Jane, how cool to see a flock of turkeys! I love the hawks as well. Seeing a flock of Ibises would be quite the sight, how interesting! The photos are a lot of fun, but definitely quite a project. :)
ReplyDelete